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Curfew to hush airboats at 11

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published February 28, 2007

INVERNESS - Airboat drivers on local waterways after 11 p.m. can face fines from the county, but not criminal charges.

The County Commission voted 4-1 to approve a new airboat curfew ordinance Tuesday. Commissioner Vicki Phillips was the lone dissenter, arguing that misdemeanor penalties would deter boaters from breaking the rules.

An ordinance that has been on the books since the 1980s imposed a curfew on airboats between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

But Assistant County Attorney Michele Lieberman said the county needed to take another look at that regulation, which made violating the curfew a second-degree misdemeanor, in light of a state law passed last year.

Citrus County Airboat Alliance president Bob Hoover, who also heads the Florida Airboat Association, said commissioners were taking the wrong approach and discriminating against airboats.

"It's a noise issue ... it's not a type of vessel issue," he said.

A few people said they supported the curfew.

"Twelve midnight is ridiculous. People are already asleep," said Sophia Diaz-Fonseca, an Inverness City Council member who lives on the water. "This is a bedroom community."

Commissioners Joyce Valentino, Gary Bartell and Dennis Damato said the curfew was necessary to protect waterfront residents.

But several commissioners expressed concerns about a recent e-mail from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, which said changing the rules would cause enforcement problems.

"I don't want to adopt something that's going to give the sheriff a reason to come forward," Phillips said.

Commissioner John Thrumston said he disagreed with any county regulation of airboats, since state laws already require drivers to install mufflers on their vessels.

"I just think that we're taking away the ability for someone to go out and do what they like to do," he said.

But ultimately he voted for the new ordinance, because otherwise the existing ordinance - and misdemeanor penalties - would have remained in place. Thrumston appeared perplexed by his options.

"I'm in a box," he said.

"Welcome to the Board of County Commissioners," Bartell replied.

Violating the curfew will result in a $50 fine.

Repeat offenders within a 12-month period will be required to take a boating safety class.

In other news at Tuesday's County Commission meeting:

- Residents who live near sand pits in Lecanto pleaded with county commissioners for help Tuesday, claiming mine owners are illegally dumping material and burrowing into the aquifer.

The issue before commissioners was an ordinance amendment that would allow the county to grant permits for mine owners to bury vegetative debris, like trees and yard waste, in existing sand pits.

But several residents of the Frasure Hull Peach Orchard neighborhood, which is near County Road 490 and Rock Crusher Road, said mine owners were burying piping and other materials.

And they said the county must put a stop to it and do a better job of regulating mines.

"I am so upset about this matter. Nobody is listening to us," resident Thomas Nunziato said after showing commissioners a video of what he described as illegal activity at a neighboring mine. "We call all the time."

He said deep digging at the mines was contaminating the neighborhood's water supply, causing "white sand by the shovelful" to come up in at least one resident's toilet.

No representatives from the three sand mines in that area of the county spoke at Tuesday's meeting.

Commissioners did not make a decision about the ordinance amendment Tuesday. They will vote on the issue at a hearing on April 10.

-Commissioners caught their first glimpse of the proposed Floral City Community Plan and responded positively, for the most part. But Phillips said she had one concern. She said she worried language in the plan made it seem like the county was committed to funding area improvement projects.

But director of Development Services Gary Maidhof said the language was meant to help, not hurt the county, by creating standards for the area and helping secure grant funding.

Phillips suggested changing the language slightly to encourage community groups and private-sector companies to also help with area improvements. Commissioners will vote on the plan on March 13.

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-3709.

[Last modified February 27, 2007, 20:05:23]